Visual Arts and Film

Nature and Place commissions

Nature and Place is a new series of temporary works, taking inspiration from the forests of Ticknock, Tibradden, Barnaslingan, Carrickgollogan, Kilmashogue and Ballyedmonduff. The selected artists were awarded funding by dlr Arts Office to develop the first three projects between December 2023 and March 2024. Supported by Coillte and the Dublin Mountains Partnership.

 

Ticknock: What's Going On? by artists Listen and Breathe is the fourth project to be commissioned, and is funded by Creative Ireland.  This new guided podcast explores the changing landscape of our forests over seasons, years and millennia. It will bring you on a journey from Ticknock Forest car park to Fairy Castle.  The core collaborators Hugh Farrell, Tyler Kieffer and Kevin McNamara have created the work through a series of in-depth interviews with the caretakers and communities who engage with our forests. It will be available to download and listen to from Saturday 5 October 2024.

 

Join us for the launch of this podcast at Ticknock Forest on Sunday 6 October at 10am.  The starting point is the upper car park at Coillte’s Ticknock Forest (Google Maps link) and the walk will take about an hour. Please note that it is steep at times so is not suitable for those with limited mobility.

 

Please download the podcast to your device before in advance, as the signal gets patchy towards the top. Download it here (from Friday 4 October)or on the major podcast platforms by searching for Ticknock: What's Going On?  

 

Gallery

Download PDF of Martin Healy's Silva Here:

Silva PDF

Download Méadhbh O'Connor's sound files and Sky Walkers Map Here:

Sky Walkers Soundfiles

Martin Healy

Martin has captured a series of photographswhile walking in and observing the six forests over a period of two months. The photographs were taken in a variety of locations and include wide-angle images of tree cover, close-ups of the various flora and fleeting images of birds. Healy describes the resulting images as “observations in the field” – a visual language for the thoughts and observations that occur while undertaking these walks. The resulting photographs have been compiled into a digital artist publication entitled Silva.

Martin Healy's work has been shown widely both nationally and internationally. International residencies include CCA, Andratx, Mallorca, 2022; Cove Park, Scotland, 2014; Temple Bar Gallery & Studios / HIAP-International Residency Exchange, Helsinki, 2010; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, 2008; Artists’ Residency Programme at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2007; the International Studio Programme Residency at PS1 Contemporary Art Centre, New York, 2000/01.

Méadhbh O'Connor

This sonic artwork invites people to take a walk in the forests of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, stopping at key sites to listen and take a private moment to reflect. O’Connor’s work features six meditative poems written and recorded by the artist, which can be downloaded to phones or other listening devices free of charge, along with an artistic map of the forests. Sky Walkers conjures mysterious and fantastical vignettes based on the local landscape. The poems, which have historical, mythical, scientific and futuristic allusions, are set over ambient soundscapes. The sound files and map are available to download here for self-guided walks.

Méadhbh O’Connor is a visual artist whose work is composed of an extended exploration at the intersections of art, science, technology and environment. She uses sculptural and multimedia installation, image making and the written and spoken word. She has a decade of experience working in parallel with scientific researchers with whom she shares deep interests in the underlying structures of nature.

Robert Coleman / Laura Sarah Dowdall

Reroot was a site-specific soundwalk, co-created by composer Robert Coleman and dancer Laura Sarah Dowdall, which explored the sensory soundscape of Barnaslingan Wood. Through listening and somatic exercises, field recordings that reveal sounds typically inaudible to the human ear – such as the internal sounds of trees – and performance, Reroot presented an immersive experience. Five guided walks of Reroot took place in March 2024.

Composer Robert Coleman’s current work draws from soundscape studies, site-specific art, field recording, and community and participatory arts. Laura Sarah Dowdall is an innovative dance artist creating engaging work, which incorporates site-specific performance, spoken word and film. 

press release Nature and Place 5.12.23.pdf
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Martin Healy Silva_Artists Publication.pdf
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Gallery
Meadhbh O'Connor wearing black clothes and bright pink scarf holds a moss covered circular object in her right had; Robert Coleman wearing dark clothes holds a microcphone which is encased in a clear plastic circle; Martin Healy in dark clothes, holds a camera. They stand facing the photographer, standing on a rocky surface with mountains behind them in the distance

Artists Méadhbh O'Connor, Robert Coleman and Martin Healy pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

Artists Méadhbh O'Connor, Robert Coleman and Martin Healy pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

Méadhbh O'Connor, wearing black with a brigh pink scarf, is standing in the foreground of the photograph facing the camera. the camera angle is low and there are tall pine trees behind her. She holds a bright green moss covered ball in her right hand

Artist Méadhbh O'Connor pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

Artist Méadhbh O'Connor pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

Robert Coleman stands with his side profile to the camera, looking into the distance. he is wearing headphones and there are trees behind him. The photographer has taken the image looking through a plastic circle and this gives the photograph some blurring and distortion

Artist Robert Coleman  pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

Artist Robert Coleman  pictured at Barnaslingan Forest to announce the Nature and Place projects

a rocky outcrop with scrub and grasses is in the foreground of this photograph. a number of people may be seen standing on the top of the rock in the distance, framed against a dramatic sky with clouds. The words Sky Walkers float in the clouds. The entire image is filtered with a blue tinged infra red filter.
a black and white photograph printed onto light brown paper. A bird sits on a high tree branch in the bottom left of the frame surrounded by high spruce trees. The photograph is taken from the ground at a low angle looking up towards the top of the trees. The word Silva is printed in the top left right hand corner

Silva, Martin Healy

Silva, Martin Healy

Laura, a dancer with long dark blonde hair, stands on a tree stump on one leg. her two arms are reaching overhead and her other leg is held high. she wears an olive green dress and cape. she is in the middle of a forest clearing with tall pine trees behind her

Laura Sarah Dowdall performing ReRoot, March 2024. photo: Stedman Photography

Laura Sarah Dowdall performing ReRoot, March 2024. photo: Stedman Photography

a black and white photograph with a thick tree trunk running from top to bottom of the right side of the frame. branches and foliage are shown on the branches of the tree

Ticknock no 6, Martin Healy, from the series Silva

Ticknock no 6, Martin Healy, from the series Silva

photograph taken from a high point in Ticknock Forest. Purple and green heather is in the foreground, with the blue sea of Dublin Bay and blue sky with grey and white clouds in the background

Ticknock, Hugh Farrell

Ticknock, Hugh Farrell

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